It seems that
almost every major scandal from the 90s has gotten a modern reboot these days.
From the American Crime Story retelling of the O.J. Simpson case to the
Menendez Brothers’ recent Lifetime movie, but one notorious story from that era
just got it’s very own happy ending and it wasn’t a made for TV
movie. It’s been 25 years since the famous 1992 case of Amy Fischer and Joey Buttafuoco that left housewife Mary Jo Buttafuoco with a
partially paralyzed face. Now, one plastic surgeon has given
the 62-year-old mother of two a happy ending and a brand new smile.

In an interview
with Inside Edition, the 62-year-old survivor spoke about how the nerve damage
to her face from the almost fatal shooting has made an impact on her
life. “It affects your self esteem. It does when you can’t put on a bright
smile,” she said. NewBeauty reached out to the plastic surgeon who
has helped fix Mary Jo’s smile, Beverly Hills, CA, plastic surgeon Babak
Azizzadeh, MD, to find out just how he was able to repair the long-term nerve
damage that gave Buttafuoco a lopsided smile.

According to Dr. Azizzadeh, the
procedure he performed is one that is typically done on patients with facial
paralysis or for those with conditions like Bell’s palsy (the condition Angelina Jolie was diagnosed with last year). “In the case of Mary
Jo, I performed a selective neurectomy. It involves releasing the platysma
muscle (which pulls the corner of the mouth down, preventing upward smile
motion) and selectively decreasing the activity of the nerves that counter the
smile mechanism to help get an upward trajectory of the mouth and improve
synkinesis,” says Dr. Azizzadeh.

Synkinesis is
the miswiring of nerves after a trauma. “This procedure allows for spontaneous
reanimation of the face. In conjunction with her smile reanimation, I also
performed facial rejuvenation to help Mary Jo look and feel her best,” adds the
doctor.

In
addition to the facial nerve rewiring, Dr. Azizzadeh also performed a facelift
during the procedure. “Many patients opt to also undergo facial rejuvenation
procedures at the same time. Facial paralysis patients have been through so
much, it is great to be able to rejuvenate their appearance and boost their
confidence all in one surgery.”

As
the Inside Edition piece shows, the
results of both procedures were a success and Mary Jo Buttafuoco has gotten her
own true-life happy ending. “The results are typically permanent and my
expectation is always to get the smile to be as symmetrical as possible and the
face to be as beautiful and symmetrical as possible,” says Dr. Azizzadeh.